Having won the latest call for tenders from the Spanish semi-public airport manager AENA, the Belgian service provider Aviapartner will offer his ground services In 12 of the 15 largest Spanish airports.
Already present in seven Spanish airports since 2015, including Malaga, Seville, Menorca and three Canary Islands, the private Belgian group will provide its ground services to nine other airports including Madrid and Barcelona (respectively 4th and 5th airports in the EU), as well as Valencia, Alicante, Ibiza and Bilbao.
The new licenses granted to Aviapartner will come into force in April 2024. During its call for tenders, AENA received offers from fifteen Spanish and foreign airport service providers. These 168 proposals were evaluated based on criteria regarding quality, innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.
In Spain, the collective labor agreement for airport ground services requires new license holders to take over staff from former operators at each airport. “Thanks to this collective agreement, not only is the continuity of services better guaranteed, but it also values the know-how of the staff and their interests are taken into account.“, declared Aviapartner, committing to respect the Spanish labor code. More than 25,000 people are employed in airport ground services in Spain, the leading country in the European Union in terms of annual passengers.
Aviapartner already offers its services to airlines and passengers in nearly 65 airports in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and soon in Switzerland. Recently, the Belgian provider received confirmation that it will provide airport ground services at Munich Airport for the next seven years, replacing Swissport. Munich is the second largest airport in Germany after Frankfurt and the sixth in the European Union, with 50 million passengers expected in 2024. The license obtained by Aviapartner will take effect in March 2024 in Munich.
